Crop cutter



United States Patent 412,491 10/1889 Ford 2,936,837 5/1960 DeLustetal.

ABSTRACT: A crop cutter, for pulling and severing vines from their rootsimplanted in spaced rows, having a cutting wheel, rotatably mounted on asupport shaft, and positioning means afi'ixed to the support shaft fordrawing the cutting wheel along a row at an angle of 10 to 45 degreeswith said row and at an angle of 45 to 80 degrees with ground level.Lifting means, driven by the rotating cutting wheel, can be positionedon opposite sides of the row of crops to support the vines as they aresevered from their roots and lift them to an elevated position fordeposit in a harvester or return to ground level.

\PATENTEUDEEIIZZAJSTU I 4 $549,95 SHEEIIOFQ' IN VENTOR. DAVID E. CARHARTrlcaz f BY HIS AT ORNEY,

PATENTED 050221970 3548852 sum 2 or 3 INVENTOR. DAVID CARHQR HISATTORNEY PATENTEU nEc22 I976 3 Q 548,95 2

SHEET 3 OF 3 52 54 IL! v 42 INVENTOR. 'DAVID E. CARHART HIS ATTO NE CROPCUTTER This invention relates generally to a device for cutting'andpulling crops to be harvested.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a device forsevering growing vines from their roots at a point below ground levelwhile supporting the cut vines to prevent them from falling to theground as they are elevated to a harvester or placed in windrows, whichdevice is simple in construction and easy to operate.

Briefly, the invention comprises a crop cutter for severing vines fromtheir roots implanted in spaced rows which comprises a cutting wheel,rotatably mounted on a support shaft, having a cutting edge about itsperiphery forcutting the vines from said roots; positioning meanssecured to said support shaft for drawing said cutting wheel along saidrow at an angle of 10 to 45 degrees with the longitudinal axis of saidrow and at an angle of 45 to 80 degrees with the ground level; andlifting means, supported by said positioning means, for supporting saidvines as said cutting wheel severs them from their roots and for liftingsaid vines to an elevated position above ground level as the cuttingwheel is drawn along the row and thereafter depositing the vines in aharvester or in windrows. Preferably, first and second lifting means arepositioned on opposite sides of the row of crops to be cut by the wheelfor gently lifting and depositing the severed vines.

So that the invention may be more readily understood, reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which are of fered by way of example onlyand are not to be taken as limiting the invention, the scope of which isdefined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the cutter of this invention, attached to aconventional drawbar, particularly showing the angular relationship ofthe cutting wheel with respect to the row of crops to be cut. Forpurposes of clarity the support fingers are not shown attached to thedrive chains.

FIG. 2 is a plan elevation view of the cutter positioned to be drawnalong a row of crops. For purposes of clarity the support fingers arenot shown attached to the drive chains.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the preferred cutting wheel of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan elevation view of the cutting wheel.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the plane of line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan elevation view of an adjustable sprocket forpositioning the support fingers at a predetermined elevation aboveground level. I

FIG. 7 is a section view taken along the plane of line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a segment of chain mounted support fingers anda coacting cam plate for moving the fingers to a support position.

FIG. 9 is a plan elevation view of the segment of support fingers, drivechain and cam plate.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown acutting wheel 10 mounted on an offset hub 12 with spaced spokes 14. Hub12 is rotatably mounted on support shaft 16 so that wheel 10 rotates atan angle of 45 to 80 degrees with the ground level. The angle of wheel10 with ground level 18 can be changed by adjusting shaft 16 in housing22 affixed to frame 26. The frame in turn is connected to drawing meanssuch as the drawbar 28 of a traction vehicle, now shown in the drawings,e.g. a tractor. When frame 26 is moved in a direction parallel with croprow 30 wheel 10, in addition to being positioned at an angle with groundlevel, is held at an angle of 10 to 45 with the row. Preferably frame 26is adjustably connected to drawbar 28 so that the position of wheel 10with respect to crop row 30 can be changed.

Wheel 10 is along row 30 so that its bottom cutting surface 32, i.e.,the outside periphery of the'wheel, is V4 to 3 inches below ground level18. Preferably, the wheels bottom surface or cutting surface 32 istapered at an angle of 10 to 45+ with the center axis of the wheel sothat it is positioned in a plane substantially parallel with groundlevel 18 when the wheel is in its cutting position. As wheel 10 ispulled it rotates and slides along row 30 because of its angularposition with respect to said row. Accordingly, the wheel's inside edge34 acts as a cutting blade which preferably severs the roots of cropsgrowing along the row. However, depending 'on soil conditions, theplants can be pulled from the soil by the wheel as it moves along therow.

As the vines are severed from their roots or otherwise pulled from thesoil they are no longer supported by said soil and fall to the ground ifnot supported in some other fashion. Once on the ground they aredifficult to pick up without bruising or otherwise injuring them.Accordingly, support fingers 36 are positioned on opposite sides of thegrowing-vine for supporting them when they are severed from their rootsor pulled from the soil by cutting wheel 10. In addition, as cuttingwheel it) continues to move along row 30 the support fingers 36 lift thesevered vine upwardly away from ground level 18 where they can bedeposited in a harvester for stripping or layed in a windrow forsubsequent harvesting.

Support fingers 36 are mounted on chains 38 and 40 which in turn arepositioned on sprockets 42 and 44, and 46 and 48 respectively. Sprocket42 is mounted on shaft 16 between wheel hub 12 and crop row. 30 and isprovided with offset mounting means to control the elevation of thesupport fingers above ground level and to compensate for the tilt ofshaft 16. The offset-mounting means includes mounting sleeves 50attached to positioning plates 52 which are adjustably secured to theopposite sides of housing 54 with bolts 56. Shaft 16 passes through port58, which port is offsetfrom the center of housing 54, and is securedwithin sleeves 50 with bolts 60. By shifting the position of plate 52 onhousing 54 and by rotating the housing on shaft 16 the angle andelevation of housing 54 with respect to ground level 18 are adjusted.Sprocket 42 is mounted on housing 54 in a conventional fashion to befreely rotatable thereon.

Sprocket 46 is rotatably mounted on shaft 62 at a position spaced-apartfrom sprocket 42 so that it is'on the side of row 30 opposite fromsprocket 42. Chain 40 mounted on sprocket 46 is driven with sprocket 48while chain 38, mounted on sprocket 42, is driven with sprocket 44. Thedrive sprockets 44 and 48 are keyed to drive shafts 68 and 70respectively which are connected together with universal joint 76 andare supported at an elevated position above sprockets 42 and 46 withsupports 64 and 66. Drive shaft 68 is keyed to pulley 74 which in turnis driven with belt 72 mounted on hub 12 of wheel 10. Accordingly, whenwheel 10, is turned its rotational movement drives chains 38 and d0.

As indicated, support fingers 36 are used to elevate the severed vinesto an elevation where they can be deposited into a harvester or windrowson the ground. The support fingers are preferably joumaled to chains 38and it) with sleeves 78 which in turn are attached to the chains in aspace relationship. In operation, the fingers, which normally hangdirectly beneath sleeves 78, are held in a support position with camplates 80 mounted adjacent to chains 38 and 40 with supports 82connected to the frame of the cutter in a conventional fashion. The camplates are positioned to hold support fingers 36 outwardlyaway fromchains 38 and 40, preferably at an angle of about 45 to with groundlevel 18, while they are supporting vines cut and pulled by wheel ill.The support fingers 36 can be shaped in various configurations tosupport and elevate the cut vines, e.g., angled, curved, straight, etc.It is to be noted that the outer periphery 84 of housing 54 can be usedas a cam surface similar to cam plate 80, to hold support fin gers 36 ina predetermined support position as the fingers move around housing 5 4.

In operation, wheel 10 is drawn along row 30 in the fashion hereindescribed to cut and uproot the roots of crops growing along said row.As the wheel rotates support fingers 36, connected to chains 38 and 40,coact with the severed vines to support them in an upright position andto elevate the vines to a predetermined position above ground level 18.When the fingers reach said predetermined position they are no longersupported by cam plates 80 and accordingly drop their load onto aconveyor, now shown in the drawings, for transporting the severed vinesto a harvester or onto a windrow.

Whereas there is herein illustrated and specifically described a certainpreferred construction which is presently regarded as the best mode ofcarrying out the invention, it should be understood that various changesmade be may be make made and other construction adopted withoutdeparting from the inventive subject matter particularly pointed out andclaimed.

lclaim:

, 1. A cutter for severing plants from their roots which comprises acutting wheel having a peripheral-cutting surface, rotatably mounted toa support frame; means attached to said support frame for moving saidframe along a row of plants such that the peripheral-cutting surface ofsaid cutting wheel is maintained at an angle of 10 to 45 with said rowof plants and at an angle of 45 to 80 with ground level to rotate saidwheel by a coaction between the peripheral-cutting surface and the gground; and lifting means secured to said support frame for supportingsaid plants as said cutting surface of said cutting wheel severs theroots of said plants and for lifting said plants to an elevated positionabove ground level, wherein said lifting means comprises a plurality ofspaced support fingers, positioned on opposite sides of said row andsecured to supportfinger-elevating means for elevating said supportfingers above ground level as the cutting wheel is rotated.

2. The cutter of claim 1 wherein said peripheral-cutting surface of saidwheel is tapered at an angle of l0'to 45 with the center axis of saidwheel to be positioned substantially parallel with ground levelwhen'said wheel is drawn along said row;

3. The cutter of claim 1 wherein said support fingers are shaped to bepositioned at an angle of 45 to with ground level when said fingers aresupporting and elevating crops cut by said cutting wheel.

uThe cutter of claim 3 wherein drive means for driving said liftingmeans are connected to said cutting wheel for driving said lifting meanswith the rotating cuttingwheel.

5. The cutter of claim 4 wherein said peripheral cutting surface of saidwheel is tapered at an angle of 10 to 45 with the center axis of saidwheel to be positioned substantially parallel with ground level whensaid wheel is drawn along said row.

6. The cutter of claim 1 wherein said lifting means are provided withposition control means for adjusting the elevation and angle of saidsupport fingers with ground level.

